UFO Report of 20 July 1967 - Homestead Air Force Base

This document contains a field report and associated correspondence regarding a UFO sighting reported by an 18-year-old civilian and her sister near Homestead, Florida, on July 19-20, 1967. The witnesses reported two separate sightings of a round, glowing object that appeared to follow their car on US 1. The first object was described as having a roaring sound, while the second was silent. The objects were estimated to be larger than a basketball and hovered 5 to 10 feet off the ground. The report was initially filed with the Dade County Public Safety Department and subsequently forwarded to the 19th Bombardment Wing at Homestead Air Force Base. The investigating officer, 2d Lt Robert R. Cloar, noted that the investigation was delayed because he was initially unaware of the press coverage the incident had received. The document includes a copy of a newspaper article from the South Dade News Leader dated August 2, 1967, which details the witnesses' accounts. The Air Force investigation concluded that the report lacked sufficient quantitative data to warrant further inquiry. The investigating officer suggested that the sightings could be attributed to psychological factors, such as fatigue, or optical illusions like reflections and refractions, noting that the objects conveniently disappeared when other vehicles approached, which precluded the possibility of corroborating witnesses. The document also mentions the involvement of NICAP and the University of Colorado's UFO study, indicating the broader context of public and academic interest in UFO sightings in the South Dade area during that period.